New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) Union cabinet on Tuesday approved a three per cent hike in dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees and pensioners which will cost the exchequer Rs 9,168.12 crore.

According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the current addition will take the DA from 9 to 12 per cent and that the move will benefit 48.41 lakh central employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners.

Previously, the Cabinet had raised the DA from seven to nine per cent last August 2018 which was implemented with retrospective effect from July 2018.

DA, paid to government employees and pensioners, is a cost of living adjustment allowance to mitigate the impact of inflation on people.

--IANS rv/sn/prs